The Unexpected Destiny
by Utasora
Summary: Takes place after DOBS episode... Zuko finally joins the gaang and earns all of their trust, except the feisty waterbender. Zuko will find out about his new road of destiny with her.. Yes, I know: Sucky Summary. But please Read and Review!
1. Trust and Talk

**The Unexpected Destiny**

**Chapter One - Trust and Talk**

Zuko approached the temple

Zuko approached the temple. He left his weapons on the grass some ten feet behind him and approached the large door, engraved with the Air nomad's symbol. He had a feeling they already knew he was there, knowing that earthbending girl. Toph, was it? He heard shuffling behind the door. They knew it was him. They were preparing to take him. He turned his palms inward. He wanted the Avatar and his friends to trust him as soon as possible.

He knocked. They flung open the door and he was lifted off his feet, entrapped in four walls of earth, leaving only his head visible. Toph stood at the ready, her arms curved gracefully upward, preparing to give a fight. The Avatar was holding a staff unlike his other. Perhaps it was longer? Zuko didn't know nor care. The Avatar's face was contorted with rage.

"What are you doing here?" There was bitterness in his voice that made Zuko close his eyes tight. He knew he would have to work hard for his trust. He had screwed up big time.

"I am here," he said, slowly, "to help you." The Avatar looked towards Toph, confusing Zuko. Toph nodded.

"Don't trust him!" a voice shouted from behind. It was that oaf, Sokka. He was running, withdrawing a black sword unlike Zuko had ever seen.

"He's telling the truth, Sokka," Toph said, rolling her frosted eyes.

"Don't you remember his sister? What if she passed her ways of lying onto him?" Sokka was holding the sword, surprisingly, like an expert. Zuko laughed dryly, despite the situation he was in.

"Trust me; I could never lie like Azula."

"And," Toph added, "Azula was a good liar, but her heartbeat and breathing did speed up slightly. It was good enough to where there was a fine line, something I didn't want to chance with at the time." Sokka, shocked who Toph was siding with, said nothing.

Aang seemed just as shocked, but lowered his staff. Toph pulled down her arms and Zuko was set down on his feet. He lowered to his knees and bowed his head.

"I am here to help. I have seen the ways of my wrongdoing and I know my destiny and yours, Aang," Zuko said, looking up and meting the Avatar's slate eyes.

"We trust you Zuko," Aang said, bowing to him as the Fire Nation did. Sokka put back his sword.

"Alright, I trust you too," Sokka said, unconvincingly, "but try any funny business and you'll regret it! It's three elements against yours." He motioned to the door beyond the entry way, obviously meaning the other children with them.

"I know. I am here only to help the Avatar with his destiny." Zuko repeated, standing up.

"Well, grab you weapons and come on inside," Aang said, motioning inside, "We don't need to draw attention to ourselves." His eyes scanned the skies quickly and then held the door open for Zuko. Zuko grabbed his dual swords and other weaponry and ran inside. Aang walked towards a door on the far right.

"Alright, here's the boys chamber. It includes makeshift bunks and a washroom for at least six people at a time." Aang said, pushing open the door so Zuko could the multiple boys sleeping and snoring.

"This," Aang motioned to the door on his right, "is Appa and Momo's chamber. I wouldn't recommend going in there, just because I only need to go in to feed the two." Zuko could hear the massive bison grunt behind the metal door.

"This," Aang pointed to his next-right door, "is the living area." He pushed open the door to reveal a fireplace with an already-burning fire, maps, and bails of hay sprawled across the floor. There were a few canteens here and there and the work did not seem finished, yet everyone was asleep.

"And lastly," Aang moved on to the last, far-right, door, "is the girl's chamber. There is never a need for you to enter unless of emergency, admittance by one of the girls or admittance by either Sokka or I. But even then, I'd still ask one of the girls." Aang had a serious look in his eyes, warning Zuko to never stumble into the chamber. "There are only two of them, Toph and Katara, but they mean just as much as us twelve or so men."

Zuko nodded, but his heart had jumped to his throat at the mention of the water bender's name. The memories of the catacombs were still strong in his mind: This was one thing he still had to correct.

Deciding not to mention any future conversations he needed with Katara to Aang, knowing the Avatar's fetish for the girl, he turned and sat in the living area, letting the waves of heat lick over his sore body. Today had been tough, but he had been accepted into his destiny. He had to work hard, but he knew it would be worth it.

The Avatar leaned his staff against two bails stacked atop of one another and walked over to Zuko's resting form. He sat across from Zuko, looking meaningfully at him.

"I knew you weren't what your father wanted you to be, Zuko. I knew it would only take you a deal of time before you came. I knew that we could be less of enemies, more as…friends."

With Aang's last word, Zuko looked up. The Avatar was smiling and the golden flames were flickering in his grey eyes. As though a sudden impact, Zuko remembered how many times this boy and his friends saved his life and how he had shown generosity before to them.

"I believe," said Zuko, slightly smiling in spite of his struggling mind, "that we have already made that happen."

Katara was in the shower room, letting her favorite element wash out her day's grime, the failure of the eclipse, and, most of all, Aang's kiss.

She loved Aang, but not in the way the boy had seen it. She loved Aang like a brother or a son, but she knew telling Aang this would break his heart. Yes, she had to admit that she had had a bit of a crush on him, letting her girlishness ways take over and flirt with the airbender. But eventually, they had worn off, blossoming into a relationship that was stronger love between that of couples, but into love that meant a sibling bond, perhaps sometimes closer than that of her and Sokka's.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Toph, who came into the washroom. Katara pulled her head out from the stream of water just in time to hear "-some guy named Zuko." Before Katara could ask for the rest, Toph was gone.

Katara stood there, shocked. Was Zuko attacking? Was Zuko doing something of betrayal with his father, spying and then ratting out the location of the Avatar? But Toph's tone did not seem urgent or scared, and she would have surely waited to see if Katara had gotten the message if it was truly important.

Katara, thinking of no other way to find out what was happening, turned off the taps and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a red cloth around her. She returned to the sleeping chambers (Toph was still out in the main entrance or somewhere) and got dressed into a silk, sleeveless red nightgown, but place the wraps around her wrists, just incase of fight. She did the same with her ankles, brushed her hair but quickly gave up, leaving the girl's chamber with wavy, messy hair.

The Avatar left and Zuko did not intend to stay next to the fireplace much longer, but sleep overtook him. He awoke ten minutes later to someone coming to the living area entrance. Aang, Sokka, and Toph had gone to bed it seemed, so Zuko wondered who would come to spy. Perhaps it was one of the boys, wondering about the new guest? Zuko would think they would be told in the morning instead.

"Zuko?" The soft voice of the intruder made his heart skip. Katara stepped out of the shadow of the doorway and Zuko was momentarily silenced by her small, thin form.

Zuko could not believe how much the water peasant had grown and changed from that time in the catacombs. Her hair was wavy and messy, resting gracefully on the small of her back. She looked better in the Fire Nation's colors than that of her own nation's. Her wrists and ankles were wrapped, looking fiercely out of place with her shivering and petite body. Her nightgown's silk and lace swayed with ever small step she took, trying to get a better look at the Prince's face. Somehow, her overall appearance had enhanced, making her look less of a child and more like the fifteen year-old she was.

"It is you!" she whispered, and she bended water quickly out of one the canteens. She looked fierce, in contrast to her momentary weak look before. "Why are you here?! Tell me!" Zuko had expected this, but perhaps not this early.

"The Avatar, Toph, and your brother trust me, you should to." He hated saying it, but it was the only way to calm her down. "Ask them now if you don't believe me."

Of course she believed Zuko, Toph had told her he was here. What she was angry about was the fact he had decided to show his face to her, even after the betrayal in the catacombs.

She lowered the water back into the canteen and walked away, making her way for the exit.

"Wait!" Katara stopped and spun around.

"What?" Tears now sparkled in her eyes.

"I want to…" Zuko said, rising out of his hay-bail seat, "I want to apologize. No… Beg for forgiveness." Katara stopped crying and wiped her tears away. She looked out the door at the boy's chamber door. She motioned for him to follow her.

"Let's go to the girl's chamber. I don't want Sokka or Aang eavesdropping." She didn't look happy with her suggestion, but she didn't want to face the consequences of the two boys even more. Zuko looked shocked.

"What about your friend-?" he began, but Katara waved her hand.

"She sleeps like a rock when we're not really in danger. It's only when we're camping that she becomes a light sleeper." Katara made her way out the door and to the next door. Zuko followed.

They sneaked in and Zuko lit the candle immediately for light. They went to her bunk. Katara sat on the blanket on the cot and Zuko sat on the hard stone, not daring to make his way onto the comfy wool.

"What I did was wrong and I don't expect you to forgive me…" Zuko began his story and Katara sat there, arms crossed, face soft.


	2. Not this Time

**The Unexpected Destiny**

**Chapter Two - Not this time**

"I should have never done what I did. The betrayal against you and my uncle made me realize how much I've been doing wrong." Zuko murmured, looking directly into Katara's eyes. She waited, arms cross, for him to continue. Zuko sighed, "I'm sorry. I faced my father to tell him I will no longer be a prince and I will join the Avatar. I realized that the battle inside of me was because of my grandfathers: Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku," Zuko heard Katara give a gasp, "I have chosen the path of my mother's father. I know my destiny and I know the Avatar's."

"Hmp," Katara turned and stared into the flame. For one fleeting moment, she looked like she was from the Fire Nation as the golden light masked her blue eyes. Zuko glanced into them. He was surprised to see tears had come back. Her face was straight, trying to show no pain.

"What? I'm sorry. Did I offend you?" Zuko hated that he couldn't understand women as easily as he should.

"It's…it's just…What did you know about your mom?" she asked, and for once, Zuko understood what she was asking about. She was referring to about their shared 'moment' in the catacombs.

"I figured from my dad that she isn't dead," Zuko whispered, the words tearing at his heart as he said them. He wanted to know where his mom was, to see her and comfort her, to know she was all right.

Katara turned toward him, but looked at the wall behind him. She said nothing, only fiddling with the wool of her blanket. Her tears made tracks down her tan cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could say the same about your mom," Zuko sighed, "If and when I find my mom, I'll introduce you to her. I think you'll like her. She's not like most fire nation people." Zuko smiled, trying to lighten the mood. He looked at the flame of the candle again, watching it pulse up and down.

He felt her touch his arm and he looked up in surprise. Her eyes were filled with tears now, streaming down her cheeks and dripping off her chin. He lifted a sleeve to offer to wipe away her tears, but she pulled back and stood up.

"No. You did this last time. I can't believe you," she wiped away her tears. They still flowed, but she had a more solid look on her face. Anger or confusion? "You can't be trusted. Not about this." She walked quietly over to the door and opened it, looking at her feet.

Zuko rose, hesitant. He knew this would happen. Of course it would happen. He walked out of the room and down to the opposite door. He heard her mumble something, barely audible. He caught her last words: "…some time. That's all."

Katara closed the door. Why she had shown vulnerability was beyond her. She was the strong one. Why was it always that damned firebender to take her out of her normal emotions?! Katara sat on her cot again, laying her head on the cool pillow.

"He wasn't lying," Katara heard a little voice murmur.

"What?"

"I said, he wasn't lying, Sugar Queen," Toph said, a little louder.

"Oh," was all Katara could manage.

"What happened between you two?"

"It's a long story. You'll figure it out soon enough, Toph."

"But what-"

"Good night Toph."

Toph sighed and rolled over. Katara blew out the candle and went into a restless sleep.

Zuko woke up the next to find some of the boys changing. Some were whispering and glancing at him, others just simply said "Good morning!"

Zuko had also expected this. He knew being the former Fire Nation prince was a setback to his destiny.

Zuko changed his shirt and pulled on his boots. He walked out of the boy's chamber and his stomach growled.

He returned to the 'work room' to find Sokka, Aang, Toph, and Katara sitting around sifting through maps, talking in hushed voices. Zuko could tell by the look on their faces that they were discussing about his father.

Zuko sat in the far corner, watching some of the other boys sift in and out of the room. One came in and called breakfast ready. Zuko walked out, following him. Not only was he hungry, but he had tried catching Katara's eye, making no success whatsoever.

_**Defiantly to be continued.**_


End file.
